Chapter Text
After a week of camping in the Cotswolds, a fortnight at the Burrow, it was nice for Holly to sit down to a calm table for tea. Hamish’s mother, Gwen sat down at the head of the table as her husband Dougal plopped the last saucepan of potatoes onto the table.
“Long time no see, how is everyone?” Gwen asked the table around her.
“I’m fine thanks, Mrs Williams,” Heracles replied as Dougal served their stuffed courgettes.
“It’s great to have a break from Fred and George,” Ronnie answered.
Holly nodded as Dougal began doling out potatoes. “Yeah, it’s nice being here for a change, thanks.”
“Dougal? You’ve forgotten to make any veg again,” Gwen told him as he finally sat down.
“I have? Och must’ve slipped ma mind gràidhean,” he said in mock horror, giving Holly a small wink.
“Dad, do ye think I could borrow ye broom for my project?” Hamish piped up.
“I dunno Hamish, why don’t ye ask yer mother?”
“I’m not comfortable with you experimenting in the house, Hamish,” Gwen said reprovingly, prompting him to finish his potatoes in silence. “If you want to play around with an older Comet that’s fine, but please don’t fiddle with our brooms.”
“Yes mum.”
The meal continued with small talk about their camping adventures, Holly had never spent more than a night under canvas, which had been cut short by events at the Quidditch World Cup the previous summer. The Dursleys had disapproved of camping, so her experience of Muggle camping with the Grangers had been eye-opening, watching Mr Granger set up the portable stove, helping set up and take down the tents, and learning to swim in the river; the Grangers had been shocked to learn that her relatives had never taken her to a swimming pool, so Mrs Granger had taken it upon herself to teach Holly some rudimentary strokes. Hamish and Ronnie had offered to take her to good spots they knew to practice. Hamish was going to show them to a lake on the morrow.
The conversation turned to what Sirius and Remus had been doing. Holly and Heracles had each provided written testimonials to the committee that was overseeing Sirius’s case. After much pressure from Professor Dumbledore, the head of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, had reopened the case.
“With any luck, she’ll be free and pardoned tomorrow,” said Mr Williams. “Remus said they could come over for tea, perhaps earlier if that’s alright with us.”
“That’s brilliant!” said Holly happily.
“Aye, I said you’d be happy to see them sooner,” he nodded.
“So, a morning swim, lunch, then visitors?” asked Mrs Williams.
“I have to pick up some things from Diagon Alley, but I’ll be back in time to make lunch,” replied Mr Williams.
“Looks like you children will have the morning to yourselves then,” she nodded.
“Can we still go to the lake, mum?” asked Hamish.
“Of course, just be back in time for lunch.”
After the meal, Ronnie suggested a game of gobstones, only to be disappointed by everyone else wanting to go to bed. Despite her enthusiasm for sleep, Holly had real difficulty drifting off. This might have had something to do with Ronnie’s snores, which seemed to shake the walls. A few times it seemed as if she had woken herself with a particularly loud and gurgling breath, only to continue after several seconds.
When she finally did sleep, it was interrupted by nightmares of graveyards at night and flashes of green light. Sitting up in bed, Holly sighed. Perhaps some warm milk would help her sleep. Slipping into some shorts and throwing a dressing gown around her, Holly crept out of the room and padded down the stairs to the kitchen. The clock was pointing to half one as Holly poured herself a mug of warm milk.
As she was climbing back up the stairs, Holly noticed light coming from a door that was left ajar. Curious, Holly quietly made her way over and gently pushed it open. Inside sat in front of a desk, his bronze curls tousled from sleep, Hamish was bent over writing something. His pyjama trousers were a few size too small, and Holly could see his ankles.
Holly coughed, causing him to nearly jump in his chair.
“Oh hey, Holly,” he said catching his breath. “Trouble sleepin’?”
“Yeah,” she said. “You?”
“I was jus’ writin’ a letter,” he replied.
“A letter?”
Hamish sighed. “Dean and I’ve been writin’ to each other over this summer.”
“Explains the disappearances,” Holly teased. “Why didn’t you tell me you two were writing?”
“I dunno,” Hamish said, looking down. “We’re jus’ friends.”
“Uhuh?” Holly raised an eyebrow.
“Look that stuff that happened at the Yule Ball,” Hamish floundered. “It wasn’t-we weren’t- ok, fine. It was exactly what it looked like. We’re just tryna friends for now, maybe it’ll turn into somethin’. Jus’, please don’t tell the others.”
“My mouth is sealed,” she said, miming a zip across her lips.
“An’ who knows, maybe ye’ll find someone yeself this year. I know of a few boys who took an interest.”
“Really? Why?” Holly wondered what someone would see in her.
“Ah, mostly the mystique, I think. Suppose there must be a lot of rumours about your adventures every year,” he shrugged.
“Our adventures,” she corrected him.
“Our adventures,” he rolled his eyes. “Point is, boys are taking notice of you.”
“Yeah, suppose it’s natural,” she sighed. “Mrs Weasley gave Ronnie, Ginny and I a talk about things.”
Hamish tried to suppress a snort. “Merlin, tha’ musta been embarrassing.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ronnie that shade of red,” admitted Holly.
“If it makes you feel any better, me dad did the same for Cles and I.”
The sound of creaking floorboards prompted them both to look up.
“Should probably get back to bed?”
“Aye,” Hamish tucked his half-finished letter in a drawer before following her out onto the landing.
The pair softly padded their way upstairs before splitting up.
“G’night, Hols,” said Hamish.
“Night.”
)(
The following day after lunch, Sirius and Remus arrived.
“All charges dropped!” cried Sirius. “I’m a free woman! Just been to Ollivanders to get a new wand.”
“Sirius!” Holly smiled as her godmother strode into the living room, Remus in tow.
“Hey, it’s my favourite goddaughter,” she grinned. “Had a good summer? Have fun camping? Did Molly feed you well?”
“Yes, to all that,” replied Holly.
“Sirius, Remus, can I get ye both something to drink?” asked Mr Williams, popping his head into the living room.
“Tea, please and thank you, Dougal,” replied Remus.
“Same for me, thanks,” Sirius added, before turning to the rest of them. “Heracles, Hamish, Ronnie, been a while. How have the rest of you been?”
“Great yeah, thanks,” replied Ronnie. “Camping with Cles’s parents was weird.”
“I imagine it would be,” said Remus.
As Remus engaged her friends in conversation, Sirius turned to Holly.
“Hey, so now I’m a free woman, I was thinking we could spend some time together,” she said in a low voice.
“What? Just the two of us?” asked Holly.
“Exactly,” she replied. “That is, if you want to?”
“I’d like that.”
“Brilliant. I was thinking that it’s been a while since I’ve had my hair cut, not many hairdressers in prison.”
Holly blinked for a few seconds. “You want a haircut?”
“Don’t sound so shocked,” chuckled Sirius. “I might not be as girlish as some of your school friends, doesn’t mean I want to keep this mane,” she gestured to her hair, a long braid coming down to her waist. “It’s also more practical, so there’s that too. So, what do you think?”
“I’d like that a lot,” she replied. “Today?”
“Sure, I’ll let Remus know where we’re off to and ask Gwen if she knows any places close by. Remus should have some Muggle money I can nab,” Sirius said. “Why don’t you grab your things and we’ll be off.”
Moments later and Sirius and Holly were making their way down Oban’s high street.
“Gwen recommended this place,” Sirius gestured to a hairdresser’s.
“Afternoon, how can I help ye?” a woman asked as they entered.
“Hi, do you take walk-ins?” asked Sirius.
“Oh aye, for the two of ye?”
“Yeah, my goddaughter and I were thinking of getting a trim.”
The woman bustled from behind the counter. “A trim for yeself, and what about you, dear?”
“Erm,” Holly hadn’t thought that far ahead, preoccupied with spending time with Sirius.
“Don’t know? That’s alrigh’, how about ye sit down while I sort out ye godmother,” suggested the woman kindly. “There’s a catalogue on the side there ye can leaf through, see if there’s anything ye fancy.”
“Th-thanks,” Holly smiled, making her way over to the seating area.
As she flicked through the catalogue, Sirius sat down in the chair and began chatting amicably with the hairdresser. In truth, Holly had paid scant attention to her hair. It probably helped that she had inherited her mother’s, rather than the unruly black hair of her father, or a simple brush through in the mornings or after washing would have proven woefully insufficient. As it was, it didn’t require much effort to braid or tie into a ponytail for Quidditch. But long hair did take a while to dry, patience for which Holly sometimes lacked, simply going to bed and waking up with a mess atop her head, much to the chagrin of Parvati and Lavender. So perhaps something shorter would do.
Holly looked up to see Sirius getting up from the chair, her hair cut into a bob.
“Thanks for that, my head feels lighter already,” said Sirius. “Alright Holly, you found something?”
“Erm, y-yeah,” she replied, turning to the hairdresser as she finished sweeping up the cut hair from the chair and floor. “D-do you think you could do the same for m-me?”
“Certainly, dearie, just plop yeself down and I’ll get to work.”
“Oh, going for short hair, eh?” Sirius winked.
“Seems more practical,” nodded Holly. “And this way, Ginny and I won’t get mixed up.”
It was relaxing to have someone take care of her hair, the hairdresser insisting on a wash “on the house” as she put it. Holly let herself enjoy listening to Sirius and the hairdresser talking, occasionally offering the odd comment here and there. She made a point herself on insisting that the hairdresser keeping enough at the front to hide her scar.
“Goodness, aye, sorry, I didn’t want to make a fuss about it when I spotted it,” said the hairdresser. “Absolutely no problem, I can understand ye not wantin’ it on display.”
With Holly’s help, Sirius paid for their cuts. Thanking the hairdresser, they meandered back towards Hamish’s, Sirius taking a detour to get themselves some chips.
“I know you just had lunch, but I’m starved,” she explained. “And it’s a tradition that when you’re on a Scottish holiday to get chips and risk them being stolen by the gulls. No rain though, so we’re not doing it exactly right.”
Holly laughed at the absurdity of the excuse.
“Ah, you got me, I just fancied some chips,” Sirius confessed. “The most heinous crime a girl can commit, eating with no thought to her figure,” she said, dramatically offering her wrists up to Holly as if to accept handcuffs. After the pair had finished laughing, much to the confusion of the staff behind the counter, they headed back out towards Hamish’s.
“So, how would you rate today?” asked Sirius.
“Erm, fantastic,” replied Holly.
“Really?!”
Holly nodded, her mouth occupied by a mouthful of chips.
Sirius gave a small fist pump. “Heck yeah, and Remus said I couldn’t be a cool godmother.”
“You’re my favourite godmother,” said Holly quietly.
“I’m you’re favourite god- hold on, I’m your only godmother! You devious little..,” she narrowed her eyes, playfully smacking Holly’s shoulder.
Holly flinched.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, Holly, I should have asked, I completely forgot!”
“I-it’s ok, I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all,” Holly insisted. “You’re still a great godmother,” she added.
“Ok, well next time I’ll remember to ask before touching you,” said Sirius seriously. “Still gotta work at this being a good guardian.”
“I think you’re doing a good job so far,” said Holly encouragingly.
“Even after that?”
Holly nodded fiercely.
Sirius smiled. “You know, not sure if Dumbledore mentioned this, but Remus and I were talking about maybe adopting you. If that’s what you wanted, of course. So, you’d have somewhere permanent you could come back to when you’re not at Hogwarts.”
“I-I’d l-love that,” said Holly sincerely.
“So, this is sort of my way of apologising for not seeing you sooner this summer,” said Sirius. “Dumbledore said the less you know the better.”
“About what?”
Sirius sighed. “Don’t tell Remus I said anything, if it were up to me, you’d have known this months ago. Dumbledore’s reformed the Order of the Phoenix, that your parents and I were part of the last time You-Know-Who was active, to counter his activities. Remus and I have been busy making the old Black family home liveable as a headquarters for the Order.”
“I don’t understand, why wasn’t I told about this?” Holly asked resentfully.
“The less you know the safer you’d be, or at least that’s the thinking among some people in the Order,” replied Sirius, discretely guiding Holly down a path through the woods and casting a quick charm with her wand. “Muffling charm so we can speak privately,” she added by way of explanation.
“I wasn’t very safe when I faced him in June, and I had no idea what was going on!” Holly said indignantly.
“I agree,” said Sirius earnestly, spearing a chip on her wooden fork. “We won’t be able to say much in letters while you’re at Hogwarts, but in the meantime I’ll keep you posted on everything happening in meetings.”
Holly sighed. “I suppose you’re gonna tell me that the Ministry doesn’t believe he’s back.”
“More than that,” said Sirius grimly. “Fudge is using all his influence among the press to have you and Dumbledore smeared as delusional. Thankfully Remus made the cottage Unplottable while you were on holiday, or we might have faced a deluge of less-than-safe correspondence from some of the more agitated readers of the Prophet.”
“But that’s mad!” exclaimed Holly. “No one in their right mind would blindly deny my claims.”
“It’s a good thing Fudge isn’t in his right mind,” Sirius sighed. “The last time Voldemort was around we almost lost, it was a very close. Fudge and the people around him are terrified at the thought of Voldemort being back. They’ve become quite content with the way things are.”
“So what’s being done about it?” Holly demanded.
“Our options are limited, unfortunately,” Sirius grimaced. “Dumbledore’s become persona non grata at the Ministry, used to be that Fudge would turn to him for unofficial advice, but the past few years he’s seen that as a liability. We do have people in the Ministry, among the Aurors, who are sympathetic to us, and we’ve managed to recruit a few so we’ve got eyes and ears in the Ministry. But swaying the administration isn’t promising. Fudge has been courting the support of conservative elements.”
“Malfoy,” Holly spat.
“Among others,” nodded Sirius. “We can’t prove it, but we reckon some of the wealthy families that supported Voldemort last time or even old Death Eaters are sponsoring some paramilitary groups. Dumbledore didn’t want you seeing this, but you should know,” she pulled out a rolled-up copy of the Prophet.
Violent clashes in Fulsham!, read the headline.
“Small magical community near Cambridge,” said Sirius. “The Prophet’s reporting this as a Muggleborn sparking a fight in a pub, fighting Aurors, setting the Apothecary on fire. But we had someone on the ground who saw what happened. Group of pureblood wizards goaded a Muggleborn into a duel and set fire to the shop.”
“And people are just believing that?”
“Hard to know if you weren’t there,” shrugged Sirius. “But it’s not the first time this sort of incident has happened. It mostly just seems to be disaffected purebloods at the moment, acting on the nonsense the Prophet pushes about Muggleborns being treated more favourably by the Ministry. But we’ve had intelligence from the upper echelons of the pureblood circles saying Malfoy and others are organising something more formalised called the Bloodbearers.”
“And the Prophet and the Ministry are going to keep saying this is the fault of Muggleborns?”
“The Ministry’s official stance is that it can’t comment on ongoing investigations,” said Sirius. “But given the likes of Malfoy bankrolling him, Fudge isn’t likely to side with the truth anytime soon.”
“So what’s the Order doing then?”
“Some of us can speak up about this, patrolling near Muggleborn-owned businesses or in neighbourhoods that are likely to be targeted, try to head off any thugs before they can start something,” replied Sirius. “The rest of us, who aren’t in a position to be vocal, because we might lose a job, or like Remus because we’re also a target, or have only just been cleared of criminal charges,” she coughed politely. “We have another mission. Something a bit closer to what Voldemort’s doing. That stuff is important, don’t get me wrong, but there’s only so much we can do against organised money. Most people aren’t prepared to risk their lives and livelihoods.”
“So, what? They don’t care about Muggleborns being attacked in the street?” Holly asked angrily.
“It’s not that they like what’s happening,” said Sirius. “But the Order asks a lot of people, if you’re not very good at Defence, or work a full-time job, then regular patrols aren’t very feasible.”
Mollified, Holly speared the last few chips onto her fork. “You said you had another mission?”
“The last time Voldemort was at large he had more than just Death Eaters on his side,” Sirius collected their empty chip boxes. “All manner of dark creatures flocked to his cause, giants, dementors, wraiths and the like. Some of us are working to persuade those beings, like vampires and giants, not to join him again, or even to fight him. Remus has had mixed success with werewolves,” she continued. “And Voldemort appears to be after something, something he didn’t have last time. We’re trying to stop him from getting it.”
They emerged from the woods close to Hamish’s house.
“You mean, like a weapon?” Holly asked.
“Something like that,” Sirius replied. “We’ll talk more the next time it’s just the two of us.”
Remus and was chatting with Hamish’s parents when they entered.
“Everything alright, Holly?” he asked. “Nice haircut.”
“Thanks, yeah,” she replied.
“I was just telling Holly about adoption plans,” added Sirius.
“Oh right, yes,” Remus’s expression became serious. “It would be a big step, Holly, and of course completely up to you.”
“I want it,” said Holly firmly, tucking a few hairs behind her ear.
“We’ll be in the garden,” Gwen gestured to the greenhouses through the window.
Sirius nodded her thanks, before turning back to Holly. “Are you sure about this Holly? We don’t want you to feel like you’re being pressured into arrangements. Dumbledore has been saying he’d be happy to cede legal guardianship to me and Remus, but only with your absolute prior consent.”
“I’m sure,” she said, crossing her arms under her chest. “I never knew my parents, but if they made you my godmother, and trusted Remus, then it’s what they’d want. A-and, it’s n-not as if I’ve g-got any f-family left otherwise,” she finished jerkily.
“Ok then, it’s decided,” said Sirius.
“I’ll tell Dumbledore,” said Remus. “He can arrange the transfer of guardianship. You’ll to sign a written declaration, Holly, with an adult as a witness, Arthur might be willing to do so.”
“O-ok,” she nodded.
“But that’s all you need to do,” Remus added.
“We have to go, but we’ll see you tomorrow,” said Sirius.
“What’s happening tomorrow?” asked Holly.
“You and your friends are going to be taken to the Order’s headquarters, Mad-Eye and some people will be here to help,” replied Sirius.
“Ronnie’s parents have already moved in, there was some trouble at the Burrow, so while a few of us strengthen the wards there, they’re living at headquarters. So, you can sign the papers with Arthur when you get there,” said Remus.
“Trouble? Are they ok?” Holly asked.
“They’re fine,” replied Remus reassuringly. “But better safe than sorry.”
“Last week of the holiday, we’ll be able to see you off to Hogwarts in September,” said Sirius.
“Alright,” Holly said, satisfied with the explanations for the time being.
“I’ll just let Dougal and Gwen know we’re finished,” Remus popped his head out of the door to the back garden.
A moment later, Hamish’s parents came in.
“All sorted, Remus?” asked Mr Williams.
“Yes, we’ll see you tomorrow night,” he replied.
“Fantastic,” said Mrs Williams.
“We’re sending Mad-Eye, Emmeline, and Kingsley to pick you all up,” said Remus.
“Oh, Tonks and Podmore said they can come too,” added Sirius. “Extra security should things go awry.”
“Thank you, Sirius,” said Mrs Williams. “We’ll see you both tomorrow then.”
“Goodbye, Dougal, Gwen,” said Remus, opening the door. “Goodbye for now, Holly.”
“Bye, Remus,” she smiled.
Sirius turned to Holly. “Alright then, Holly, see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she nodded.
“Would it be alright if I gave you a hug?”
“I’d like that.
After a brief but warm embrace, Sirius followed Remus out the door. A second later and pair of soft pops announced their departure.